2020 Presidential Candidates

[frugal-one]

You'd still be following the will of the people through their selection of Congress Critters. The Electoral College provides one vote per elected Congressional Representative now, it's just that the states have a little leeway in whether they are directly apportioned or winner takes all, etc.

I've heard some folks say that if we abolished the Electoral College and elected our President by popular vote, candidates would be forced to campaign in every locality, but I don't see that happening. Why would a Democrat campaign in California? Would you guys vote Republican otherwise?

Except we have gerrymandering in many states. Lawsuit here!

[frugal-one]

I will likely continue to have to vote for some 3rd-party candidate.

Not as a snark... but what is the point?? They have no chance of winning. It seems a wasted vote to me???

[bae]

Not as a snark... but what is the point?? They have no chance of winning. It seems a wasted vote to me???

I fundamentally reject the idea that a vote is "wasted" if you don't vote for the winner.

(And in my state/district also, there is such a complete dominance by the machine-politician Democratic Party hacks that it really doesn't matter who you vote for, so even if "waste" was a concern, there's no "waste".)

[iris lilies]

Not as a snark... but what is the point?? They have no chance of winning. It seems a wasted vote to me???

As a likely third party voter in the Presidential race, I don’t feel the need to vote for the winner. America will remain a two party system until a strong third-party challenges that system. I can be a part of that challenge. I’ve got my eye on the long term not the short term.

Trump could’ve been the start of an important third-party movement. To have someone so —not pleasing—Starting that momentum would have been an ironic thing. But alas, he didn’t take the ball and run with it.

[Alan]

Except we have gerrymandering in many states. Lawsuit here!

As of a few days ago the Supreme Court ruled that gerrymandering is outside the scope of the Federal court system. Your lawsuit is likely worthless.

[rosarugosa]

I'm not a fan of our current President, but I'm also not a fan of the race/sex/gender/class divisive/populist governance priorities of the Democrats. I could easily pull the protest lever for a Joe Lieberman or John Glenn style Democrat but they've been effectively banned from the party. You guys can't provide an alternative for a principled Republican, so what choice do we have?

Alan, to be fair, the Republicans certainly haven't provided much of an option. Give Bill Weld the Republican nomination and you'll have my vote.

[jp1]

As of a few days ago the Supreme Court ruled that gerrymandering is outside the scope of the Federal court system. Your lawsuit is likely worthless.

Not necessarily. It just depends on the state constitution and laws that are in place, rather than federal laws. Or for states where voter initiatives are a thing, for voters to pass one in favor of a non-partisan redistricting commission.

[bae]

Yes, this sort of district shape is a sign of some underlying problems....

[jp1]

Not as a snark... but what is the point?? They have no chance of winning. It seems a wasted vote to me???

Jose Saramago wrote an interesting book on this topic: Seeing. The only difference was that instead of voting for 3rd party candidates the entirety of society patiently turned in blank ballots and then went on about their lives. And the political class freaked out.

[bae]

Jose Saramago wrote an interesting book on this topic: Seeing.

There are some interesting discussions around the topic of ethical non-voting as well.